Sunderland Ladies Reserves suffered penalty shootout heartbreak against Leeds Carnegie in the FA Tesco Women’s Premier League Reserve Cup Semi-Final.

The game took place at Houghton-le-Spring on Sunday and was played at breakneck speed throughout. Credit must go to both teams who put in a battling display in windy conditions on a very heavy pitch. The teams could not be separated after a goal less 90 minutes plus extra time, although Sunderland had the better of the chances in normal time including an 87^th minute penalty miss. Leeds held their nerve in the shootout as they went through to the Final winning 4-3.

Sunderland though, can be proud of their performance against a Leeds team who are unbeaten this season. They certainly asked most of the questions throughout the game and with a little more luck would have won the game comfortably. 

Manager Mark Pae said after the match …"The girls work rate and commitment was first class today. We knew Leeds would be a tough opposition and we spoke about playing with a high tempo which we did straight from the off.  We worked hard over the Christmas period making sure our fitness levels didn’t drop and I think that was evident during the game.  The team showed great character and it did seem like we would go onto win it.  However it wasn’t to be and in the lottery of a penalty shoot out, Leeds edged us out.  We showed fantastic team spirit and the girls really did work hard for each other all over the pitch. Now we must concentrate on our league form and push for promotion".